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Credits

Just as the summit of Ireland's highest mountain is often covered in mist, its name is shrouded in uncertainty. Unlike some lesser peaks, such as Mangerton or Croagh Patrick, it is not mentioned in any surviving early Irish texts. P.W. Joyce suggests that meaning of this name is 'inverted reaping hook' and that this sense can be appreciated from the middle of the Hag's Glen. He proposes that the reaping hook is inverted in the sense that it is convex rather than concave [Irish Names of Places, vol. i, p. 6]. The serrated ridges which run up the north face of Carrauntoohil are certainly amongst its most distinctive features and are therefore likely to have given name to the mountain. However, the image of a 'convex reaping-hook' is a very odd and complex one on which to base a place-name, and the use of tuathal to mean inverted, while found in dictionaries, seems to be without parallel in other Irish place-names. It seems more likely that the second element is simply the personal name 'Tuathal' as John O'Donovan believed. This forename was common in Medieval Ireland and is the basis of the surname Ó Tuathail (O'Toole). It also occurs in Lios Tuathail (Listowel, Co. Kerry) and Carraig Thuathail (Carrigtwohill, Co. Cork), which the Flanagans interpret in both cases as a personal name (Irish Place Names). Intriguigingly, one of the earliest accounts to mention Ireland's highest mountain, written by Isaac Weld in 1812, refers to it as 'Gheraun-tuel', which suggests that the first element was not corrán, but rather géarán, 'fang', which is found in the name of several other Kerry mountains. On the basis of this one reference, it is difficult to say whether this represents an earlier form of the name or whether it was a corruption. For further information on the name, see Paul Tempan, Some Notes on the Names of Six Kerry Mountains, JKAHS, ser. 2, vol. v (2005), 5-19.
Carrauntoohil is the highest mountain in Ireland. Carrauntoohil is the highest point in county Kerry.Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/1/?PHPSESSID=utgt96bbl5v3a6tkvibtv5u996

(29/08/04) well getting to the top of the highest mountain in Ireland was certainly worth the seven hour car journey from Belfast.Having gathered as much info as possible re best routes etc... including checking out this very usefull site and listening to the scare stories from the locals in the many watering holes killarney has to offer three of the founding members of the baby club set off to fulfill a longstanding ambition to get to the top of the highest peak in Ireland.
We set off for the devils ladder believing this to be the the most direct route and also because we had read how the Beenkeragh ridge was not for the "faint hearted" and we had promised our wives and children ( and ourselves) that we would return. The main danger you face when climbing the ladder is the risk of getting hit by loose rocks dislodged by your "friends" climbing above you. In fairness we were very carefull not to start an avalanche. Simple tip is to allow enough space between climbers and you should be ok.
Once at the top of the ladder it was a simple enough pull to the top. Cloud meant we lost the spectacular views at about 3100 ft but we had more than our fair share of wonderment by that stage.
We had fully intended to take the beenkeragh ridge as our way home but the poor visability meant it was a case of better the devil you know! We were all surprised at how easy our descent of the ladder turned out to be but again care had to taken.All in all our climb was most enjoyable even though crossing the "stream" to get back to our carpark(2 euro) proved a little bit tricky. Enjoyed the company of Graham, a lone walker who we took under our wing< only to be humbled when he told us he had "bagged" 256 Munroes! Throughly recommend this climb. One not to missed . Will try and add photos later. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/1/comment/1154/